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The Lower Mainland’s newest online marketplace will open on Monday, April 28, when LikeItBuyItVancouver.com begins previewing a limited-time sale of everything from household goods to consumer electronics to cruises, travel, cars, gift cards and personal services.

About 300 Unifor members voted unanimously in favour of a strike on March 1 over concerns of long lineups and waiting times at the port.

However, the union suspended plans for a strike as a sign of good faith after meeting with Ready on Thursday, when he hammered out a tentative agreement between the truck drivers and the port.

Those plans dissolved Saturday after members voted against the agreement.

“We’ve warned the government for years how bad the conditions are,” Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor’s B.C. Area Director, said Saturday.

He said although the union welcomes the involvement of Ready, the feedback from members suggests they need to see something more immediate to improve their economic position.

Federal Transportation Minister Lisa Raitt appointed Ready to conduct an independent review of the issues regarding pay and waiting times, which have contributed to the disruption of trucking operations. Ready was to report back to government by May 30.

But McGarrigle said that’s too long to wait and the union wants Ready to be brought in to mediate with all parties at the table.

“We think the federal government needs to empower Mr. Ready with the ability to bring all parties to the table including the employer groups and talk about what we can do to get those immediate improvements while we wait for the comprehensive review.”

Robin Silvester, president and CEO of Port Metro Vancouver, said in a statement Sunday night that the purpose of Ready’s appointment "was to conduct a review of an industry that is clearly not functioning well for all stakeholders.

"We agree that truckers should be paid a fair wage, but bargaining relating to employment and contract relationships can only be done with the employer or the parties to the contract. Port Metro Vancouver is not the employer and is not party to the contract relationships."

McGarrigle likened the container truck situation to the wild west, saying there is no overarching association that speaks for all the employers.

"There’s like 180 different employers, there’s different unions, non-unions, fake unions and so it’s crazy and there’s no stability."

More than 1,000 of their non-unionized counterparts parked their trucks on Feb. 26 and stopped working at the port to protest lengthy waiting times to load or drop off containers at Metro Vancouver’s four terminals, and the undercutting of trucking rates. Unifor then announced it would go on strike unless a mediator was appointed.

The strike appeared to have been averted Thursday after truck drivers left a meeting with Ready with recommendations for a deal, which at the time McGarrigle characterized as "one small step in the road" toward resolving all of the issues. No details of the tentative deal were disclosed to the public.

It is the second time since 2005 that port truck drivers have walked off the job over the issues of long waiting times at terminals and the per-container rates for hauling the 40-foot shipping containers used to move ocean-going cargo.

Tempers have flared during the current dispute, with reports of vandalism and truck brake lines being cut, and Port Metro Vancouver threatening to suspend and cancel licences of drivers involved in alleged violence.

The port filed suit late last month against the non-union United Truckers Association over allegations of disruptive protesting and property destruction.

Association spokesman Manny Dosange has said that the lawsuit was a driving factor in the group’s decision to remain on strike and has called for the port to drop the suit in order to restart negotiations.

Dosange said there’s no proof his members were behind the alleged offences, and any civil action should wait until a potential criminal investigation is complete.

This recent disruption has had a dramatic effect on the ability of terminal operators to move goods, said Silvester.

"The impact of truckers walking off the job is in the order of about $885 million per week," he said. "Goods are not moving and that is bad news for consumers and businesses."

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